During the midseason finale of The Walking Dead, fans had a HUGE shock. There was a twist we weren’t expecting because it wasn’t in the comics. But now fans are trying to figure out if what they fear is really going to happen. Is THAT character going to die, or is there any chance at all that the character might live? There are major spoilers below for the midseason finale. Only read on if you’ve already seen the episode.

At the end of the episode, Carl revealed to Rick that he had a bitemark on his stomach. Yes, he’s been bitten by a walker. It happened while he was trying to lead Siddiq back to Alexandria. They got in a scuffle with some walkers and Carl was bitten. He’s been getting steadily sicker and sicker. That’s part of the reason why he was so willing to sacrifice himself to Negan in order to save other people. And that’s why he had such a tough time escaping. At times he seemed to just stop moving and stand there for a long time. Fans though it was the shock of what was happening. But now it’s more likely that Carl was just really, really sick.

Does Carl have to die? We’ve seen some people miraculously escape before. Remember Glen and the dumpster? Or Negan when Rick and all the other people were shooting at him? It’s TV, maybe Carl can have a miraculous recovery. He can’t cut off his arm because he was bitten in the chest. But isn’t there another way to save him? I’m still holding out hope that Carl will somehow survive. Maybe he’ll be immune. Maybe he was bitten by something that wasn’t a walker (yes, I’m really stretching for this one.)

Unfortunately, we’re not being given any chance to hope unless the creators and producers are lying to us. During Talking Dead, Scott Gimple said that things were going to play out for Carl just like bites always play out. But at this moment, Carl is still alive and he still has things to do. Here’s that scene again:

But the show got even more pointblank about Carl’s demise in other interviews. We have absolutely no reason to hope unless we’re all being conned. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Chandler Riggs talked about when he got the call about his character. “Yes, Carl is going to die,” he told the publication. “There’s no way he can get back from that. His story is definitely coming to an end.” He said that Scott Gimple wanted to meet him and his parents in person to talk about what was going to happen. He said they needed to make Carl a humanitarian figure who saw the good in people, in order to move Rick’s arc forward. He said the news was devastating to him and his family, because the show had been such a huge part of his life and he had just bought a house in Georgia near where the show films. But now he gets to take some time to focus on acting and music in LA, so it’s not all bad. No, this wasn’t Riggs’ decision to leave. But yes, he IS leaving.

If you look back at the episode, you can see that Carl knew he was going to die. He told Negan he was willing to sacrifice himself so other people could have a chance at a better life. Gimple said that the scenes we’re about to see with Chandler are among the best acting he has ever seen on the show. So when The Walking Dead returns on February 25, there’s going to be some serious heartbreak going on. And fans just aren’t ready.